A large wildfire in the North Caucasus republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia has quickly spread over the past two days, prompting the evacuation of almost 250 people at a popular nature reserve, regional authorities said Friday. Russian media reported that the blaze erupted in the resort town of Dombay on Wednesday, temporarily trapping groups of tourists. Eyewitness…
The victims of a deadly Russian fighter jet crash in October 2022 are seeking damages from the Russian military, the Kommersant newspaper reported Friday, citing anonymous sources. Sixteen people were killed and 43 others were injured when a Su-34 fighter jet crashed into a residential building in the town of Yeysk, located in southern Russia’s…
A Ukrainian missile attack on southern Russia’s Krasnodar region sunk a railway ferry, regional authorities said Thursday afternoon. “The Kyiv regime carried out another terrorist attack on the territory of the Krasnodar region,” authorities wrote on social media. “A railway ferry carrying fuel tanks to Port Kavkaz was hit.” Officials said emergency responders were already…
As Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region continues for a third week, civilians on the ground are voicing growing anger toward Ukraine, fellow Russians and their own government, which they feel has abandoned them and tried to downplay the incursion. Kursk region residents who spoke to The Moscow Times expressed frustration with what they see…
An activist who previously served prison time for breaking Russian protest laws was detained for donating money to Alexei Navalny’s outlawed political organizations, independent media reported Thursday. Programmer Konstantin Kotov was arrested during the 2019 Moscow election protests and ended up serving 18 months for “multiple breaches” of Russian protest laws. His original four-year sentence…
Russian universities admitted almost twice as many Ukraine war veterans and their children for the upcoming academic year compared to 2023-24, Russia’s Education and Science Ministry said Thursday in comments to the Interfax news agency. President Vladimir Putin in 2022 ordered a 10% university admission quota for war veterans and their children, granting them priority…
Around 20,000 Russian civilians remain in border areas of the southwestern Kursk region, authorities said Thursday, coming after more than 133,000 people were evacuated amid clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces. Acting Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov provided the latest evacuation figures in a televised meeting with President Vladimir Putin and other government officials. “As…
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the Ukrainian military of trying to strike a major nuclear power plant in southwestern Russia’s embroiled Kursk region. “Today, the enemy tried to attack a nuclear power station,” Putin said during a government meeting, referring to the Kursk plant. “The International Atomic Energy Agency has been informed. They’ve promised to…
India surpassed China as the largest buyer of Russian oil last month, Reuters reported Thursday, citing import data from both countries. Russian crude exports to India in July reached a record 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd) compared with 1.76 million bpd to China, the news agency said. India imported 12% more Russian crude than…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday it detained three men, including a Moldovan citizen, suspected of plotting bomb attacks in annexed Crimea and sharing military intelligence with Ukraine. “All those detained are providing confessions,” the law enforcement agency said in a statement published on its website. Russian state media released an FSB video showing the…
UN nuclear agency head Rafael Grossi will visit Russia’s Kursk Nuclear Power Plant next week, an agency spokesperson said Thursday, more than two weeks after Ukraine launched a surprise counteroffensive in the region. “We can confirm [it’s planned for] next week,” a spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said without providing further details.…
Russian law enforcement authorities said Thursday that they have filed criminal charges against a CNN reporter and two Ukrainian journalists for illegally crossing the border into Ukrainian-held territory of the Kursk region during a reporting assignment. “Criminal charges have been filed, and investigations are underway,” a spokesperson for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) told the…
Authorities in the embroiled Kursk region of southwestern Russia have begun setting up makeshift bomb shelters near bus stops to protect civilians from ongoing air attacks. “At my instruction, the Kursk city administration has identified key locations to place modular concrete shelters,” acting Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov wrote on Telegram. “We plan to equip…
Russian authorities said Thursday that a Ukrainian drone strike sparked a fire at a military site that some observers identified as an airfield housing warplanes that may be involved in combat operations against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. Volgograd region Governor Andrei Bocharov said Russian air defenses repelled a drone attack near the village…
A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced exiled opposition politician and former MP Dmitry Gudkov to eight years in prison “in absentia” for criticism of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Gudkov, who served as a lawmaker in Russia’s parliament from 2011 to 2016, was found guilty of publishing “false information” about the Russian military, motivated by “political…
Russia said Wednesday that brief outages of Telegram and WhatsApp were caused by a cyberattack, while internet experts suggested that the authorities themselves may have attempted to block the popular messaging services. Federal media regulator Roskomnadzor blamed the outage on a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) cyberattack targeting Russia’s telecom operators. A DDoS attack is designed to force…
President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia’s economic and trade links with China are “yielding results” as he welcomed Chinese Premier Li Qiang to the Kremlin. Moscow has looked to Beijing as an economic lifeline since the Ukraine conflict began, with the two boosting trade to record highs as Russia faces heavy economic sanctions from…
Authorities in northern Russia’s Murmansk region issued a drone attack warning on Wednesday, as local airports imposed flight restrictions following unverified reports of an unmanned aircraft being shot down. “A drone threat has been detected in the Murmansk region,” Governor Andrei Chibis wrote on Telegram. “All necessary security measures are being taken.” Shortly before the…
Ukrainian special forces said Wednesday that they destroyed several Russian military pontoon bridges along a river in the Kursk region, coming days after authorities in Russia said Kyiv’s military blew up three bridges spanning the waterway. A video posted on social media purportedly showed “precision” strikes against the makeshift river crossings in the partially occupied…
More than two weeks have passed since the Ukrainian army launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. The Aug. 6 offensive marks the first time since World War II that foreign troops have occupied Russian territory. According to DeepState UA, an open-source intelligence digital mapping service, the Ukrainian army has captured at least 646…
Major banks in Kyrgyzstan have suspended money transfers to Russia via their mobile apps following U.S. sanctions, local media reported Wednesday. The former Soviet republic is one of several Central Asian countries that have become a “backdoor” for Russia to maintain economic ties with the West despite sanctions imposed over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.…
Russian election authorities announced Wednesday that upcoming local races in parts of the southwestern Kursk region held by Ukrainian forces would be postponed until Moscow regained control over those areas. Dozens of regions across Russia are scheduled to hold elections in early September. However, amid ongoing clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces near the border,…
A businessman in the republic of Udmurtia and a Kremlin-backed nonprofit organization that supports war veterans announced plans to build a “heroes village” for the families of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. The Defenders of the Fatherland foundation said local businessman Andrei Chernov donated 10 acres of land to four widows and their children in…
Rosneft and the Ministry of Tourism of the Samara Oblast presented the “Zhiguli Weekend” motor tourist route, which runs along the region’s landmark and most picturesque locations
More than 30 people have died in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region since Ukrainian forces stormed across the border more than two weeks ago, the state-run news agency TASS reported Wednesday, citing unnamed medical personnel. “As of the morning of Aug. 21, 31 people were confirmed dead as a result of the Ukrainian armed forces attack…
Russian air defense systems destroyed nearly a dozen Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow overnight, the city’s mayor said early Wednesday, calling it one of the largest air attacks on the Russian capital since the start of the war. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said ten Ukrainian drones were shot down over the surrounding Moscow region as they…
Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into Chechnya on Tuesday and met its leader Ramzan Kadyrov on his first visit to the North Caucasus region since 2011. Kadyrov, a key Kremlin ally, says he has deployed thousands of fighters to help the Kremlin with its Ukraine offensive. Putin in May said that he planned to visit…
As Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk region has dominated headlines and offered a morale boost for Kyiv’s supporters, Moscow’s troops have continued to press forward in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. The Russian army on Tuesday announced the capture of the eastern Ukrainian town of New York, a claim that was confirmed by data from the…
Russia’s Orthodox Church on Tuesday condemned a vote by Ukrainian lawmakers to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which many believe to be aligned with Moscow. “This is an unlawful act that is the grossest violation of the basic principles of freedom of conscience and human rights,” Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida wrote on Telegram.…
Russian law enforcement authorities detained an Israeli-Canadian racecar driver and entrepreneur wanted by the U.S. for allegedly defrauding investors of millions of dollars through an illegal online stock trading scheme, media reported Tuesday. Joshua Cartu, 45, was detained at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport by the Interior Ministry’s Interpol bureau on Monday, according to the local news…
The Moscow Times is republishing the weekly news wrap spotlighting the latest developments in Russia’s ethnic republics and Indigenous communities, which was originally published by From the Republics. Tyva & Sakha ablaze Authorities in the Siberian republic of Tyva on Sunday declared a region-wide state of emergency for the second time this month due to…
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it had summoned a senior U.S. Embassy official in Moscow over what it called “provocative actions” of American journalists reporting from Ukrainian-held parts of the Kursk region, as well as an alleged U.S. mercenary presence on Russian territory. The ministry said it expressed “strong protest” to U.S. Embassy Chief of…
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday visited the North Caucasus city of Beslan ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Beslan school siege, the deadliest terror attack in modern Russian history. On Sept. 1, 2004, armed militants from Chechnya took more than 1,100 people hostage at Beslan School No. 1 in the republic of North Ossetia, holding…
Russian forces said Tuesday they had captured the town of New York in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow — under pressure by a Kyiv counterattack on its territory — presses on with its full-scale invasion. The Defense Ministry said its troops had captured “one of the largest settlements of the Toretsk agglomeration and the strategically important…
Wages for Russian truck drivers are rising faster than those in any other profession this year, the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday, citing the recruitment website Headhunter and the trucking association Avtogruzex. Median truck driver wages reached 131,000 rubles ($1,450) per month in January-June 2024, a 74% increase compared to the same time last year. Demand…
Ukrainian lawmakers on Tuesday voted to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as Kyiv continues to sever religious, social and institutional ties with entities it believes are aligned with Moscow. Ukraine has for years sought to limit its religious connections with Russia — a process greatly accelerated by Moscow’s 2022 invasion, which was endorsed by the…
Czech authorities announced Tuesday that they plan to use a portion of the interest earned on frozen Russian assets held in the European Union to purchase ammunition for Ukraine’s military. The EU froze around 200 billion euros ($221.5 billion) in Russian Central Bank assets as part of sanctions imposed on Moscow following its full-scale invasion…
Russian law enforcement authorities are urging residents in regions bordering northeastern Ukraine to avoid using dating websites amid Kyiv’s ongoing incursion, state media reported Tuesday, citing an Interior Ministry spokesperson. “The use of online dating services is strongly discouraged. The enemy is actively using them to gather information,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by…
Firefighters on Tuesday continued to battle a large blaze at an oil storage site in southern Russia’s Rostov region, officials said, two days after a Ukrainian drone strike on the facility. The fire broke out early Sunday after Russian air defense systems shot down Ukrainian drones in the town of Proletarsk. Ukraine’s military said that…
At least 17 people have died in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region in the two weeks since Ukrainian forces stormed across the border, the state-run news agency TASS reported Tuesday, citing unnamed medical personnel. “The latest figures show that 17 people died as a result of attacks by the armed forces of Ukraine,” TASS quoted its…
President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree allowing foreign citizens and stateless individuals to apply for temporary residency in the country if they share “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values,” even in cases when a person does not speak Russian. The decree states that those who oppose the “destructive neoliberal ideological agenda” in their…
More than 40 firefighters were injured while battling a major blaze at an oil storage facility in southern Russia’s Rostov region, officials said Monday, a day after a Ukrainian drone attack in the area. Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev said the diesel fire ignited early Sunday morning after Russian air defense systems shot down Ukrainian drones…
The head of Russia’s consumer protection watchdog said Monday that “traditional” values will help the country avoid an outbreak of the infectious viral disease mpox, which spreads through close physical and sexual contact. The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency last week as mpox, also known as monkeypox, continued to spread in the Democratic…
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday its troops captured a “major” settlement in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where Moscow’s forces are advancing even as Ukraine mounts its own armed incursion into Russian territory. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had “liberated” the town of Artemovo, which is called Zalizne in Ukraine, describing it as one of the…
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday that holding peace talks with Kyiv would be impossible so long as Ukrainian forces continue their offensive in the southwestern Kursk region and occupy parts of Russian territory. “At this stage, given this escapade, we will not talk,” Ushakov told the Telegram news channel Shot, referring to Ukraine’s inclusion into…
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday published an interview with a former Massachusetts city councilman who is wanted in the United States on child pornography charges, an apparent confirmation of previous reports that he fled the U.S. and enlisted in the Russian army. Wilmer Puello-Mota, a former city councilman in Holyoke, Massachusetts, is believed to have…
Russia “would be happy to” facilitate the signing of a peace treaty between longtime foes Armenia and Azerbaijan, President Vladimir Putin said during talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart on Monday. “If we can do something that leads Azerbaijan and Armenia to sign a peace agreement… we’d be very happy to do so,” Putin told President Ilham Aliyev…
Rosneft and the Government of Stavropol Krai signed a memorandum on the development of motor tourism in the region
At least three people were injured by an explosion and fire at a petrochemical plant in the republic of Bashkortostan, local authorities said early Monday. The mayor’s office in the city of Sterlitamak said the explosion occurred at a “product pipeline” of the Sterlitamakskiy Neftekhimicheskiy plant. The city is located around 120 kilometers (74.6 miles)…
A Russian court on Monday rejected an appeal by a U.S. soldier who was sentenced to nearly four years in jail for alleged death threats and theft. In June, a court in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok sentenced Gordon Black to three years and nine months in prison. He was arrested the month before…
Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office on Monday banned a charitable foundation created by U.S. film star George Clooney and his wife Amal. “The activities of The Clooney Foundation for Justice are deemed undesirable on the territory of our country,” it said in a statement. The organization “conducts extensive work aimed at discrediting Russia, actively supports false patriots…
The strongman leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, published a video on Saturday showing him driving a gun-mounted Tesla Cybertruck and praising the carmaker’s billionaire owner Elon Musk. Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya with an iron fist for over 17 years, is a vocal ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and says he has…
Ukraine said Sunday it had struck a second key bridge in the Kursk region, seeking to disrupt Moscow’s supply routes as Kyiv’s unprecedented incursion on Russian soil stretched through its second week. Russia meanwhile ramped up pressure in east Ukraine, claiming to capture another village just a few kilometers from the Ukrainian-held logistics hub of Pokrovsk.…
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Russia’s Far East Kamchatka Peninsula early Sunday morning local time, according to the regional earthquake monitoring service. The local emergencies ministry said tremors were felt along the coast including in the region’s capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. “Operational teams of rescuers and firefighters are inspecting buildings,” the regional branch…
Ukrainian drones attacked an oil storage facility in Russia’s southern Rostov region early Sunday morning, sparking a large fuel fire, the local governor said. Videos published on social media showed thick black smoke and bursts of flames coming from the site of the blaze, which the governor said was in the town of Proletarsk. “In…
Russia opened a criminal probe on Saturday into two Italian journalists who reported on Ukraine’s offensive in the Kursk region, accusing them of crossing the border illegally. Italian public broadcaster RAI aired a report on Wednesday showing the journalists driving into the region accompanied by Ukrainian military. Kyiv has been carrying out a major cross-border…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday his forces were “strengthening” their positions in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv has been mounting a major ground offensive. His comments come a day after Russian officials accused Ukraine of destroying a key bridge across the river Seym that cuts through the border region, as Kyiv seeks to disrupt…
Ten days since launching its surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine controls over 1,100 square kilometers of Russian territory. The attack has caused consternation in the Kremlin, changing the cadence of the fighting from a sluggish positional war to a new bout of emotionally charged confrontation which may have repercussions beyond the military state…
Ukrainian forces on Friday destroyed a key bridge in Russia’s southwestern Kursk region, disrupting a link between Russian-controlled areas and those where Kyiv has made incremental advances, according to pro-Kremlin media and military bloggers. The bridge, which spanned the Seym River near the town of Glushkovo, was partially damaged earlier in the day in an…
A pro-Kremlin political organization said two of its members were killed Friday while helping evacuate civilians from southwestern Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have waged a lightning incursion for nearly two weeks. The All-Russia People’s Front said that one of its medical staff and a media coordinator died in a shelling attack on their…